The Macao government presented an update to its original 2010 Ilha Verde Urbanisation Plan to the Urban Planning Council yesterday, with the proposal aiming to turn the 238,000 square metre area into a “new, liveable neighbourhood surrounded by nature.”
Unlike the 2010 plan, the new proposal calls for a reduction in the number of people living in the area from 270,000 to 130,000. Meanwhile, the government is seeking to expand the Ilha Verde Hill conservation area by more than two fold.
The deputy director of the Land and Urban Construction Bureau told local media yesterday that “we will have fewer people living there and more space reserved for public facilities.”
Overall, the new proposal divides the Ilha Verde area into 44 plots, 26 of which are reserved as residential. The housing area will account for 21.68 percent of the land or roughly 51,771 square metres.
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Commercial spaces, meanwhile, will cover 4.74 percent of the neighbourhood or 11,318 square metres. Tourism and entertainment areas make up 1.33 percent of the total or 3,175 square metres of the total land.
The remaining spaces are reserved for public facilities (12.95 percent), public infrastructure (29.77 percent), green spaces (12.42 percent) and the ecological conservation area (17.12 percent).
The plan also makes mention of pedestrian bridges and footpaths to facilitate passage between the neighbourhood’s various areas. It also calls for the removal of the temporary fuel depot and abattoir and the repurposing of the land they occupy for public facilities and green spaces.
The Ilha Verde Urban Plan forms part of a detailed urban plan covering Northern District One, which is set to undergo review next year.
